It starts small. A wrong-number text. A friendly message on Facebook. Months later, some victims find they've wired their life savings into a fake crypto app. This scam has a name: pig butchering. Criminals fatten up trust before they take everything.
In 2025, crypto scams cost people an estimated $17 billion worldwide. Impersonation and relationship scams drove most of it, growing 1,400% in a single year, and scams that used AI were 4.5 times more profitable than ones that didn't.
How the slaughter works
Unlike a scam that pressures you in one phone call, pig butchering is slow. Criminals, often working out of large operations overseas, spend months acting like a friend, a confidant, or a romantic partner. Money doesn't come up until trust is already built.
In 2025, a widow in San Jose, California connected with a man calling himself "Ed" on Facebook. For months, they texted every morning on WhatsApp. He said he was a businessman. Eventually he mentioned he was making huge returns trading crypto, and offered to help her invest $15,000. The app he sent her showed that money growing to $24,000 almost instantly.
She wired $120,000 from her retirement account. Then $490,000 more. Then she took out a $300,000 second mortgage on her home. The app showed a balance of $2.4 million. When she tried to withdraw it, the account froze, and the scammer demanded $1 million to unlock it. She finally asked ChatGPT if the deal made sense. It told her plainly: this is a scam. She called him and confronted him on the spot. By then, the money was already gone, wired to a bank account overseas.
Four warning signs
- The wrong-number text. "Hi John, are we still on for golf?" You reply they have the wrong number, and instead of apologizing and leaving, they try to keep talking.
- A fast move to WhatsApp or Telegram. Getting you off the app where you met means they're harder to trace or report.
- They never video chat. They'll text for hours every day but always have an excuse not to meet or call live. The photos aren't who's actually typing.
- The casual investment tip. After weeks of trust-building, they mention their wealth and offer to teach you a crypto trading platform. One they control.
If you lose money to this, expect a second attempt. "Recovery scammers" watch victim forums and contact people claiming they can get the crypto back for an upfront fee. They can't. Once it's gone, it's gone.
What to do if you're targeted
Stop responding right away. Don't confront them or announce that you know. Just block and report the profile. If you've already sent money, call your bank immediately, a wire can sometimes be recalled if it's caught fast. Then report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
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